VANCOUVER — It’s been 19 years since Art Bergmann released his last recording, the Juno Award-winning What Fresh Hell is This? at which point he was simultaneously dropped from the label, quit music and later sold the statuette for dope money. Poignant as only Bergmann can be. The muse never left him. He kicked it out for a bit, and now he’s back, touring in support of his forthcoming four-song EP, Songs for the Underclass.

“Desperate times call for desperate songs,” says Bergmann who is in full control of his music for the first time and is also fighting for rights to his back catalogue. With that, he has created a masterpiece in “Drones of Democracy.” Although his favorite albums are the three he did with Chris Wardman (Art Bergmann, Sexual Roulette, What Fresh Hell Is This?), he says “Drones” “is the best song I’ve ever written.” Last FM recently played the track and the DJ remarked, “I don’t know who this is but he sounds like Tom Petty.” Slap.

Drones of Democracy is a pointed attack on the irony of bombing for peace. Musically, it's a slow, driving beat with howling guitars, leading to a crescendo of wailing instruments. Art and producer Chris Wardman have created a soundscape perfectly suited to the lyrics. It is arranged so that the final build leaves you feeling like you are standing in the aftermath of a bombing. There is no explosion of sound - There's a slight muffling as if you just lost your hearing because of a bomb. The bass continues its ominous flight. Gently wailing guitar echoes grief. The synth and other instruments fill out the scene. This is a masterpiece of sound mixing which puts you at ground zero.

Good protest songs - the ones that endure - never preach to the choir. They don't rally the converted. They never tell you what to do, just that something should be done. Good protest songs force you to think, to consider.

Art Bergmann reveals his mastery of the genre with the 4 song EP Songs for the Underclass. He shows you the screwed-up world and you have to decide how to deal with it.

I've mixed two songs for Art's upcoming EP "Songs For The Underclass"; "Drones of Democracy" and "Ballad of the Crooked Man"

By Alex Hudson

If you feared he would never return, it's official: Art Bergmann is back. The punk vet hasn't released new material since the '90s, but having spent his time in rural Alberta, he's now returning with an EP. Before Songs for the Underclass drops digitally on August 26 through (weewerk), it's available to stream on Exclaim.ca.

The collection includes four tracks. Opening number "Drones of Democracy" is a jammed-out, Crazy Horse-style rustic rocker. "Ballad of a Crooked" man is similarly sprawling and noisy. On the other hand, "Company Store" is a cowpunk number with a stripped-down middle section, and "Your Cold Appraising In" is a slow-burning closer with acoustic strums, piano plinks and rich harmonies.

This won't be the last time we hear from Bergmann. Not only has he expanded his upcoming tour schedule (see below), he is currently working on a full-length.

“Some people take everything so goddamn literally. I’m in a really stupid business.”

“I just wanted to be good, like the Beatles in Hollywood.”

– Art Bergmann

The name Art Bergmann will never appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Neither will the counterculture zeitgeist ever acknowledge this Canadian wild man. The punk son of a Mennonite family, Art Bergmann earned his comparisons to Iggy Pop the hard way: drink, drug, and danger. As the frontman for The Young Canadians (Vancouver’s greatest, shortest-lived punk band), Los Popularos and Poisoned, Bergmann was frantic, frenetic and fanatical in his approach. In an era of Kenny Loggins’ stardom, Art Bergmann was the snotty rejoinder to MTV chic. Crass. Honest. Brutal. Real. Everything a pop star should not be. Most of all, Art being Art, he did not want to be anything other than himself.

The ticking. It’s hard not to notice, harder still not to find extra meaning in.

It’s a frigid Friday morning and Art Bergmann is making some tea in the kitchen of the small, charming acreage abode just outside of Airdrie that he shares with his wife, Sherri, and their two rescue dogs. The veteran Canadian singer-songwriter has graciously agreed to a sit-down for a story to publicize his upcoming Alberta shows, his first in these parts for a good decade or more, and gigs that, hopefully, signal a welcome return to this country’s musical landscape.

I’ve been working on it more or less off and on since seeing Art Bergmann perform at the WISE Hall on Canada Day a month ago. The more rumours I heard from the people there about the Vancouver singer the more interested I became.

I’ve been living in Vancouver since about the release of his first “solo” album, Crawl With Me, but what I remember most is Sexual Roulette, with the “Bound for Vegas” single and some really electrifying tunes (“Dirge #1″, for example). I didn’t follow Art’s career much after that though, and I’m not sure I ever did see him live. So the Canada Day show was a chance to rectify that situation.

The comic strip, meanwhile, was a way to try and separate the Man from the Myth.

For that, I am indebted to everyone who wrote about Art, including John Mackie and John Armstrong, as well as the curators of the Bergmann fansite, ArtBergmann.com, who posted a befuddling amount of press on the man.

Also thanks to Sherri Decembrini, Art’s wife, who answered some questions when I got stuck (i.e. “the missing years,” when Art was in Toronto).

Art Bergmann and Tony Dekker from Great Lake Swimmers performing a cover of Sin City at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto on April 25, 2009.
Chris Wardman and Jason Sniderman from Blue Peter on Guitar and Keys, Sammy Kohn from The Watchmen on drums, Bob Egan from Blue Rodeo on pedal steel, Jonny Kerr on bass.

http://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2009/04/art-bergmann-in-toronto... MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2009 Art Bergmann in Toronto, country music in Vancouver Damn, man, I wish I was in Toronto this weekend, to catch Art Bergmann opening for the Great Lake Swimmers on the 25th. Anonymous said... hey Allan, I thought you'd like to here a fan's thoughts about Art's performance in Toronto..before the show I felt some trepidation as it took place in a sort of genteel, sit down theatre environment..as well the fans for the most part probably didn't know anything about Art or his music, alot of them were early 20 somethings or older people more used to the acoustic music that the Great Lake Swimmers play..in comparison to the Richards show and what I have read, Art was more in the troubadour/songsmith mode and the focus was on his lyrics and some of his more delicate and moving/tragic songs..it was not a confrontational/punk sort of show..it was a very poignant performance..surprise !, he played guitar for the whole 9 song set, Chris Wardman backed him up...there were some of the usual between song commments, one about Mary Wollstonecraft and 1789 in the intro to "Our Little Secret" was quite memorable..by the end I think he earned the crowd's respect and received large applause several times..if you were an Art fan it was a moving and memorably stark experience..if not, his charisma/passion and the quality of the songs stood out and could not be denied..P.S In that environment and with that demographic it was great to hear the nervous laughter when people heard the perverse lyrics to "Sleep" and "The Hospital Song"...lets hope there is more shows !

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Chris Wardman first came to the public eye as the guitar player and songwriter for seminal Canadian new wave band Blue Peter. The band’s hit songs included “Chinese Graffiti”, “Radio Silence” and the hugely popular “Don’t Walk Past”. “Don’t Walk Past” continues to garner airplay on radio and MuchMusic, many years later. Getting a taste for recording while working with British producer Steve Nye (Japan, Bryan Ferry, The Cure) on a Blue Peter album, Wardman went on to a successful producing career of his own. After releasing four discs Blue Peter disbanded and Wardman slid easily into the producer’s chair, working on albums for Chalk Circle, Randy Bachman, Emm Gryner, The Watchmen, Art Bergmann, Rusty, Big Wreck and many others. From 1989 to 1992, he was on the payroll at Capitol EMI Records as staff producer working with bands like Leslie Spit Treeo, David Gogo, The Tragically Hip, 13 Engines, National Velvet and more.

Online

Chris Wardman has been involved in interactive media since the early days of websites and CDROMs. For over 10 years Chris worked at BMG and Universal Music running their official artist sites and corporate web presence. He has built enhanced cds, dvds, tv spots and artist interviews. He has worked on numerous websites for a multitude of artists including the Spinnerette, Thornley, Crash Test Dummies, The Tragically Hip, Jully Black, Hedley, and Jacksoul. He specializes in clean, modern design with a bit of edge. Behind the scenes sites are managed with open source content management systems that allow client friendly updates using web 2.0 technologies and clean code. Current clients include labels, lifestyle management companies, artist management companies and talent management companies.